Teardown: Microsoft Surface Tablet

Will Microsoft's $499 Surface make a dent in the tablet market? On a technical basis, its innards should be illustrative. So we turned to our friends at iFixit, who gave us a mini version of their Surface teardown.

The tablet is notable because it runs Windows RT, which is essentially a
port of Windows 8 to run on ARM processor. It's also got a 10.6-in
screen sporting the mobile-oriented Windows RT icons, as can be seen in Microsoft's publicity shot, below.

iFixit found it notable that the Surface has laptop-like connectivity, commenting that "nearly every edge includes ports and button." They also gave a shout-out to the "touch cover," which acts as a full keyboard when the tablet is in use, and protects the screen when it's not.

Click through to the next page to see the iFixit teardown shots. (Use
of this teardown, and images two through four, courtesy of Kyle Wiens,
co-founder of iFixit.)

The following is an AP article from yesterday:
"Research group IDC said Wednesday that global shipments of personal computers fell 14 percent in the first three months of 2013, the sharpest plunge since the firm started tracking the industry in 1994. IDC said Microsoft's Windows 8 software appears to be driving buyers away from PCs and toward smartphones and tablets." It IS relevant to this discussion.

At home we've updated two computers to use Windows 8 and both my wife and daughter like it and learned it OK. I would not use this Surface keyboard because my typing speed goes way down without a physical keyboard. I use an iPad 3 with Logitech Ultrathin keyboard for fastest typing speed.

A tablet is no more a tool for doing real work than a leatherman is a tool for rebuilding IC engines. For real work, use a real computer. Most people who have a PC at home don't use it for real work (self included).

Providing good connectivity is a plus, but the microsoft name tells me that it will have bugs that will appear down the road. More important, why should I need to learn a new interface to use those programs that I currently use? Not only is my current OS adequate for all of my uses, it mostly has all of the bugs taken care of. So why, aside from corporate greed, should I be forced to learn a new OS, and new versions of programs, that offer no advantages that I can see, except additional income to MS.
Also, I too wonder about why they all slow down after a few months. Is that some originally installed malware intended to force us into the next product offering? Or is it just poor programming and a poorly designed OS?

Word and Excel are not the ones I would like to work with: For me it is Open Office. Each year I donate EUR 50,- and these guys ensure that I can do what I need, on MAC or on PC, Don't worry about that. The world does not need Micro$oft, not any more.

The great irony with Microsoft is that they have usually done a really good job with their hardware - the microsoft split keyboard, mouse, xbox, kinect to datacenter hardware ... and now the cover that doubles as a keyboard - innovative stuff.
Their software has been another story. If windows 8 is as stable and intuitive as macos/ios then MSFT might be back!